Sunday, April 19, 2009

Samir Gandhi

Bike AP 09 L 1154Saturday evening at 0615 PM i was driving thru Prakash nagar, Begumpet area and saw two guy passing on lewd remarks on girls..they were on a Bike AP 09 L 1154. and were trying to drive close to any auto or car having girls and near to girls walking by and hurling lewd comments at them.

I tried calling 100 but there was no response fir the first five minutes. After that they sped of towards somajiguda area. Again at 0630 pm i called back 100 and reported the incident but the operator on the other side was not at all attentive he just listened and said okay and kept the phone... I am still to sure if they are gonna act on my phone call.

We sure do miss a help line sort of thing for eve teasers and lechers. Though i have not travelled much but i always find guys staring at girls who are driving and they drive close them to stare thru the scarf / helmet.

What pained me more was the reaction on the Victims who just went on their way with out even considering to do something. I tried to ask one of them about it and she just ignored me.. and went away..

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Pravin Sharma

Anybody who lives in Mumbai, knows about the locals here. At peak time, the locals are very crowded and the men stick out of the doors, climb on top of the roof...I attend a Coaching Class which is located in Borivali for which I have to cross the Railway Tracks on foot. (Of Course, its illegal but there is no other way, the common bridge is quarter km away) Many people use the crossing to cross over to Borivali W from the Eastern side and Vice Versa,like me.Its not that I hadnt heard about eve-teasing, I had assumed it to be a minor thing and never bothered to think too much about it. But all that changed last year. As I was waiting for a packed local to pass, with a few other people, I suddenly noticed several jeering voices, hooting and whistling. They were all coming from the local coming from Virar at 9:30 am.. To be honest, I had not expected such a thing to happen, so I was shocked for a moment. Then I saw the girl beside me hanging her head down in Humiliation and the commuters above (all of them, yes all of them) eyeballing her and whistling. What peturbed me the most was that the eve-teaser was not a single person but the entire train. I had to watch with sadness and helplessness as coach after coach passed and all the people inside each coach started howling. Maybe being in a group gave them some feeling of invincibility. I looked at the others nearby. Clearly they were uncomfortable too, trying to avoid looking at the train as much as possible. After the train passed, everyone including the girl went back to their business. I thought maybe they were used to it now.I was left alone, feeling insecure,weak and helpless. I spent the entire day brooding over the incident.Now I had to attend my class every alternate day. Whenever there happened to be a female (age didnt matter) the hootings began if she had to wait for the train to pass.A single guy whistled and the entire train followed him. The jeerings and tauntings were especially high if she was in a western outfit (not necessarily immodest, the kind of clothes you would not mind your sister wearing)Even women aged 40 + were not spared.Common phrases used were " Phone me coin Daal" (for someone using a cellphone) and some other unmentionable phrases.

In the evenings the train used to be relatively empty and I did not find the incidents happening . So obivously they felt safe in numbers.Once I saw a group of girls (age maybe 13-14) become a victim to this. Yet I could only stand and watch as the train drifted away quickly.Soon, I noticed the females who regularly crossed the tracks would wait at the street, behind a wall for the train to pass before they stepped on the railway tracks.Now, I have become so used to this that it does not bother me anymore. I know that I am helpless, I cant do anything to stop it. The train wont stop and even if it would there is no way I can tackle 50-60 people on my own.I just pray that someday, maybe I wouldnt have to wait for the train to pass with some member of my family.....What I think is that these people are influenced too much by Indian Movies. In movies, usually the actress falls for cheap antics and cheesy dialogues by the actor. Maybe they think what they are doing is right after watching these movies..So thats it.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Jasmeen

Immersing myself in the issue of street sexual harassment has made me calmer or less angry in some ways. I am set on being part of the process of communication rather than immediate reaction. Taking the position of the communicator makes me want to address rather than react.

There is irrational rage, the kind of rage that does not allow someone to see, hear, think, feel. How do you communicate with a very very angry person?

I was walking down Brigade Road, looking forward to a very sinful deathbychocolate at the Cornerhouse and then suddenly I saw a man trip on the road. A scooter hit him. The person on the scooter was a woman, perhaps middle aged, in helmet and sari. She apologized.He got up and started screaming at her.I walked to the site- at first wondering if they were a couple and that he had fallen off or whether he was a person crossing the road who had tripped.

She had tears in her eyes.

He was yelling at her in kannada.

" You don't know how to drive. you stupid woman!"

I stood there repeating ,"Stop it. She has said sorry. Please stop it".

...and then before I knew it, he slapped her.

I was looking around and there was no one coming to the site.I didn't pull his hand back because he could have slapped me.

I was left repeating ," how could you slap her? why did you slap her? she apologized for the accident, you did not have to slap anyone!"

" Will you pay for my injury?"

I don't know of his injury. He was walking as normal.I turned around , still repeating the same questions, and getting no answers.

I saw a woman on the pavement, fuming with rage , walking upto her husband, screaming,"why doesn't anyone come to help?!"

I looked at her and asked her why she didnt come to help."why were you standing here and watching too?!"

She walked upto that man and screamed" How dare you? How dare you , you bastard?! you fucking bastard?! how dare you slap a woman?!!"

" How dare you call me a f$!@£!@ b£@$@£$?! you whore?!"

I continued to ask him why he hit her. I asked him to not deviate from the point.I repeated- "why did you have to slap her?! "My question was ignored.

The woman's husband pulled her away and yelled at the man who had met with the accident- he was swearing too.

We told him to come with us to the police station for slapping a woman. He said yes but the woman has gone.

A crowd had gathered. finally.

The man disappeared.

Some said- you are just 2 women. Dont get into these things. He will harm you.Some said- you are right. We also saw this. how dare he misbehave.Some said- nothing will come of this.

We stood on the pavement asking why no one came to support?

A middle aged man on his bike commented, " Next time there should be more male supporters and the only way we can deal with him is by bashing him up. That's the only 'solution'."

I was warned to not continue walking in the direction that I was. I was going to catch an auto rickshaw home. I walked the other way round, another route, just incase he was hiding, waiting for a prey. I hated having to do that. and I hated not having been able to do more than stare, ask a question that remained unanswered. I am glad that there was a crowd and there was an angry woman but is rage the answer to rage?

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Thupten

If Only

It was just another weekend at a hip club in the ‘party capital’ of India. There, the multi-ethnic young crowd was having a gala time relaxing away from their hectic weekly schedules. Many were seen simply indulging in various forms of alcohol (ala cocktails, shooters, etc etc) while some were busy shaking a leg or two to the groovy hip-hop tunes by the DJ under strobe lights. Alcohol, beautiful people, good ambience, psychedelic lighting and pulsating music thumping from the gargantuan speakers; the night was young and happening. And, I with my posse was having a ball.In an alcohol induced stupor & loud music, dancing the night away; time simply flew(or at least it seemed so). And, lo, it was almost dawn and the DJ spinned away his last track for the night. Hence, the party came to a gradual end. For starters, I was exhausted after dancing like a demented lunatic (for like 4-6 hours) and to add to that the euphoria-inducing effect(s) of alcohol was fading away, leaving behind a mild yet splitting headache. So, I was resting.

While, I was drowsy and impatiently waited for my friends (who had vanished like Houdini! with their dates I might add); a hushed conversation (in hindi) nearby caught my attention. Phrases like “Abey isse kahan le jana hai?”( where do we take her) and “maza lenge” ( we will have some fun) struck my ears. I turned around, only to see a “firang” girl (most probably of Russian origin) clinging on to this shady-looking guy who looked like the ringleader of this gang of ‘local’ miscreants.And, it was this very guy who was making these nefarious plans. I was worried. I tried to make eye contact with the girl, possibly to signal her about the imminent danger or atleast give her a cue. But, the girl in her carousal, simply smiled at me; completely oblivious the impending peril. I was frustrated.So, seeing no other option, I was honor bound to intervene and to prevent this ‘probable’ heinous act from happening. But, seeing their numbers, I decided to ask my friend(s) for backup. I asked the friend who was sitting nearby. But, to my utter dismay, when I explained the dire circumstances; instead of being agitated or worried, he coolly stated:

These guys look like locals and hence could be dangerousThe stupid girl is asking for it clinging onto this shady looking guy.Not to act like a “hero” unless I wanted to be stabbed/shot at (that too for a stranger)

Appalled by his reaction, I looked around for my other friend(s). But, to no avail as they too responded in a similar, cold, heartless and blunt manner.

I was frustrated with their reactions but ever after berating them for a while, they didn’t show the least interest in my concerns. And, they almost dragged me outside and into the car. I half-heartedly left the club, worried about the girl (not that I had any right to, a coward that I was)And I left.Alas.

I have never forgiven myself for leaving that night and leaving that hapless girl to those wretched mongrels. And god knows whatever happened to that girl, I still wonder. I did pray and wished for her safety & and to this day would like to believe that nothing “untoward” happened to her.But, I am also aware of the fact that this world is not some righteous utopia and India (esp. Delhi is not a safe haven for women in general). And, also there is a very high probability that “the girl” was sexually assaulted that night. And, even though I was aware of her plight.

I DID NOTHING!!And, I am to blame.Sigh. Her smiling face has been etched on my brain and is a grim reminder of my cowardice. Everyday I look at myself, that incident made me realize that I have failed all my ideals, ethics and morals I firmly believed in.If only, I had intervened.If only…

Honestly I don't know.. I feel guilty about it.. I was in the car with my dad driving me back home late at night and on the way we crossed a lil shady kinda lane.. It was late at night about 12:30 am.. I saw a young girl walking on the side of the road and some disgusting men in a rickshaw and on bikes hooting at her.. I could see she was uncomfortable and trying to avoid them.. It wasn't a desolated place but that area is not too good, you know what i mean... And our car had the windows up so my dad did not notice it happening but I did.. I don't know what made me not react.. Though I was disturbed but I don't know why I dint tell my dad to stop the car and offer to drop her home.. I often regret this.. Maybe it was some sort of fear in my subconscious mind..

How would you like the public to support?Help me get the pervet/s arrested.. coz ofcourse it is a crime!

have you ever seen someone elseexperience street sexual harassment?did you intervene and support the survivor?did you walk away?PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORYOF BEING A SPECTATOR TO STREETSEXUAL HARASSMENT OR 'EVE TEASING'BY FILLING THE FORM HERE.THANK YOU- YOURS TRULY- BLANK NOISE TEAM

what stopped you from supporting the person who experienced street sexual harassment?

BUILD THIS BLOG BY SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE OF HAVING WITNESSED STREET SEXUAL HARASSMENT:

Were you loud? Were you mute? share your story of watching street sexual harassment?

You could also write to us addressing the public that watched you experience 'eve teasing'/ Street Sexual Harassment.